Erica Wolfe Burke, archivist and special collections librarian at The Center for Folklife, History & Cultural Programs at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, N.Y. , joined me on the Forget-Me-Not Hour last week. She talked about this award-winning gem for genealogists tucked between the Adirondacks, the Hudson River and Vermont in upstate N.Y.

The Folklife Center collects items that our ancestors used in their daily lives — from kitchen utensils, to tools, to posters, to music and instruments — to put on display in the exhibit hall of the library. When I visited the library in July, an exhibit on food featured kitchenware. It looked like my grandmother’s kitchen when I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s.

Genealogy Research at the Crandall Public Library

In addition to the artifacts our forebears used, the Folklife Center has a genealogy research collection of surname folders; the Grace Butchino collection of Hadley, Saratoga County, research; the New York State Department of Health Vital Records Index (one of only 10 throughout the state), and much more. The Folklife Center has lots of family history material from Warren County, Saratoga County and Washington County.

Listen to Erica Wolfe Burke of the Center for Folklife, History and Culture at the Crandall Public Library here.